Big 6 August 2007 U.S. Auto Sales

DETROIT September 4, 2007; Poornima Gupta and Jui Chakravorty writing for Reuters reported that U.S. auto sales in August fell 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to sales data released on Tuesday by the auto manufacturers.

The following are highlights from sales data released by the largest car makers in the U.S. market.

Overall U.S Auto Industry – U.S. Sales August 2007

* Total light vehicle sales -- 1.48 million units, down from 1.49 million a year earlier.

* August seasonally adjusted annualized rate of light vehicle sales (SAAR) -- 16.27 million units, up from 16.15 million in August 2007.

General Motors Corp - U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales up 6.2 percent (382,518 units)

* Year-to-date sales down 7.8 percent

* Inventories at month-end: 945,000 units, down about 34,000 units from year earlier

* Cars/trucks: Cars down 7.8 percent/light trucks up 16.5 percent

* Market share: 25.9 percent

* Key vehicles: Chevrolet Impala down 4.5 percent, Chevrolet Malibu down 3 percent, Chevrolet Silverado up 31.8 percent, Chevrolet Tahoe down 8.1 percent, GMC Sierra up 34.2 percent.

* Incentives: average $3,215 per vehicle, up from $2,920 a year earlier.

* Production: Third-quarter North American production forecast cut by 2 percent to 1.05 million. Fourth-quarter production forecast set at 1 million, down 10 percent from year earlier.

Toyota Motor Corp – U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales down percent year-over-year (233,471 units)

* Year-to-date sales up 4.4 percent

* Market share: 15.8 percent

* Cars/trucks: Cars down 6 percent/trucks up 2 percent

* Key vehicles: Tundra up 69.3 percent, Camry up 1 percent, Prius up 25.7 percent, Corolla down 12.8 percent, ES 350 up 8.4 percent

* Incentives: averaged $849 per vehicle, up from $710 a year earlier.

Ford Motor Co – U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales down 14.4 percent year-over-year (218,332 units)

* Year-to-date sales down 12.5 percent

* Inventories at July-end were 519,000 units, including 151,000 cars and 368,000 trucks

* Retail/fleet mix: Retail sales down 13 percent/fleet sales down 18 percent

* Cars/trucks: Cars down 33.7 percent/trucks down 2.4 percent

* Market share: 14.7 percent

* Key vehicles: F-Series down 9.9 percent, Explorer down 25.8 percent, Expedition up 16.8 percent, Fusion down 19.1 percent

* Incentives: averaged $3,145 per vehicle, down from $3,363 a year earlier.

* Production: Q4 production set at 640,000 vehicles, up 6 percent from same period a year ago. Q3 production unchanged at 640,000

Honda Motor Co – U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales down 4.7 percent year-over-year (158,342 units)

* Year-to-date sales up 1.6 percent

* Market share: 10.7 percent

* Cars/trucks: Cars up 11.7 percent/trucks down 3.6 percent

* Key vehicles: Accord up 37.3 percent, Civic down 9.5 percent, CR-V up 42.1 percent, Odyssey up 2.9 percent.

* Incentives: averaged $1,056 per vehicle, down from $1,259 a year earlier.

Chrysler LLC– U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales down 6.1 percent year-over-year (168,203 units)

* Year-to-date sales down 3.2 percent

* Inventories at month-end were 446,000 units, or a 72-day supply

* Cars/trucks: Cars up 18 percent/trucks down 12 percent

* Market share: 11.4 percent

* Key vehicles: Jeep Wrangler up 58 percent, Dodge Ram pickup down 5 percent, Dodge Caliber up 5 percent.

* Incentives: average $3,758 per vehicle, up from $2,909 a year earlier.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd – U.S. Sales August 2007

* Car and light truck sales up 6.3 percent year-over-year (95,527 units)

* Year-to-date sales up 4 percent

* Market share: 6.5 percent

* Cars/trucks: Cars up 7.8 percent/trucks up 4.1 percent

* Key vehicles: Versa up 120.6 percent, Altima up 25.4 percent, Sentra down 15.4 percent, Titan up 23.6 percent.

* Incentives: average $2,191 per vehicle, down from year $2,396 a year earlier.